AMN/ WEB DESK
US President-elect Joe Biden introduced his nominees for key foreign policy and national security roles as the transition process officially began.
Biden yesterday introduced six of the top officials he has selected to serve as part of his national security team, saying that together they would reinstate the United States as a global leader countering terrorism, extremism, the climate crisis and nuclear proliferation. He said the officials were ready to lead the world, not retreat from it.
He highlighted a number of firsts on the team, including Avril Haines, a former deputy director of the C.I.A, who would be the first woman to serve as director of national intelligence , and Alejandro Mayorkas, who would be the first Latino and first immigrant to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Mr. Biden noted that Jake Sullivan, his choice to serve as National Security Adviser, would be the youngest person to coordinate the national security team in decades.
And Biden chose former Secretary of State John Kerry as his climate envoy, ensuring that for the first time, a principal on the National Security Council would have a full-time job fighting climate change.
Mr. Biden said the selection of Mr. Kerry would signal to world leaders that the issue was a priority.
Like Biden himself, many of his cabinet members served in number two roles in the 2009-2017 administration of Barack Obama.
Antony Blinken, named to be the next secretary of state, was deputy secretary of state, while Alejandro Mayorkas was tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security, where he had been number two.